Crossroads Chapter 11: Teaching in Motion!

Previously on Crossroads: Anabel was worried her brother was a week late from when he was supposed to arrive, which caused her to be a bit more on the moody side. After hearing an explosion near her house, Ash and Anabel found her brother Corey battling a rouge Tyranitar. Once the battle concluded, Ash challenged Corey to a match, where Corey and his Gengar were able to defeat Ash and Pikachu. Afterward, as a welcoming gift on his part, Corey gave Ash a mysterious Pokémon Egg.


Tohjo Falls, Battle Tower – Kanto Region

Since Corey's arrival at the beginning of Ash's third week of 'servitude,' the Pallet trainer's free time had decreased dramatically. When he wasn't working at the Battle Tower with Anabel, he was training with Corey to improve the abilities of both himself and his Pokémon and caring for new newly acquired Pokemon Egg.

Their training usually began right after work, but the crowded schedule had started to wear Ash out after a few days. Anabel saw this and took action, restricting his concentrated training sessions with her brother to every other day at most. This paid off, as Ash had more time to rest and relax with her (Greedy much).

Today was one of the days Ash had off from practicing with Corey, so he had planned to work exclusively with Anabel. Unfortunately, those plans were not to be, as Scott, who managed the Battle Frontier, would be stopping by that day to check on Ash's progress. And as much as he hated to admit it, Anabel's protégée was worried he wouldn't be showing enough progress, which had kept him awake half the night previous.

Currently, the exhausted trainer was in Anabel's office as part of a tutoring session on the behind-the-scenes operations of the Battle Tower, having just returned from part one - Anabel demonstrating how to operate the complex elevator system that serviced the building. During this part of the exercise, he had to examine the Facility's layout to learn where certain things that contributed to the Tower's maintenance were kept.

"This is where the main electrical room is… it contains all the power generators that keep the Battle Tower running during the day. Tomorrow I'll take you down there and show you how to fix some of the different machines, so you know how to do it yourself," said Anabel, pointing to a room on the blueprints in front of her. "And here," she indicated, indicating another room, "is the room where we keep the backup generators, which allow us to keep essential systems running in the case of a power outage."

"Oh… what? Um, electrical room… fix things. Got it." An exhausted Ash stammered, trying to keep his eyes open throughout Anabel's explanation.

"Ash! Pay attention!" the lilac-haired maiden lectured. "This is an essential aspect of running your Battle Facility. What would you do if all the lights suddenly went out in the middle of a Frontier Battle and you didn't know how to fix the problem?"

"Wait for Team Rocket to appear dramatically and say their silly motto as the lights slowly turned back on?" Ash cracked. Unfortunately, his attempt fell flat as Anabel glared at him.

"I'm serious, Ash." A spike of annoyance flashed through her already aggravated mental aura.

Ash sensed the emotional flare, having practiced trying to draw out the feeling that allowed him to read strong emotions and gulped. Being the utter genius he was, he attempted to appease her with another pathetic response.

"I'm sorry, Anabel, but all this mechanical stuff just doesn't make sense to me. I'm no Noland here; cut me a break."

"Cut you a break? Mr. Only-Has-To-Train-With-My-Brother-Once-Every-Four-Days-Instead-Of-Every-Two wants a break?" she retorted. "Besides, it looks like you're already taking one - could you please at least stay awake when I'm talking to you?

As Ash was trying to formulate a protest, the doors to Anabel's office opened, revealing the owner of the Battle Frontier himself.

"Scott! You're here already?" The boy asked in surprise as he stood up to greet the man, all thoughts of argument banished from his mind.

Anabel just shook her head and sighed. "You always have to come unannounced, don't you, Scott? But shouldn't Maron have told us you were here?"

"Eh, the secretaries all have executive orders never to announce me." Their portly visitor answered. "It keeps the surprise visits surprising. But anyway, I came to check Ash's training and ask him a few questions about his future Battle Facility, now that he's had a little while to think about it."

"Sure thing Scott; what do you need to know?" Ash responded, forgetting his worry and his drowsiness in the heat of the moment. "Oh, wait - where are my manners? Take a seat." He gestured to the remaining chair, which was (coincidentally) the comfiest.

"I see you have learned something…" jested Scott as he settled into the armchair before getting down to business. "Okay, first off, I need to know what you want your Battle Facility to be named."

Ash thought about it for a second, trying to recall his decision, before saying, "After discussing it with Anabel and Pikachu, one of the inspiring aspects of battling is the rush feeling I get during League conferences, especially when people in the stands are cheering for me. I want to be able to replicate that feeling for my challengers. Thousands of people might not be in the audience like at an official conference. However, I still want the visitors to feel like they are an irreplaceable part of the events in the arena. Maybe even a virtual way of including fans in the arena. With that in mind, I decided I would like my Facility to be called the Battle Colosseum!"

"Hmm… Battle Colosseum, League conference feel…." Scott mused. "Okay, sounds fabulous; what would you like your Symbol to be called? Once we figure that out, we can determine whether to base its looks off its name or your Facility, as we did for all the others."

"Oh, that? That's easy; it'll be called the Bond Symbol! I value having strong bonds with Pokémon - like Pikachu, and I do! Picking that as the Symbol of my Battle Facility is a no-brainer. After all, If I'm going to give my Symbol away, I want to see the bonds the trainers and their Pokémon have to defeat me!"

"Hmm…" Scott mused, having tried to decipher Ash's speech during the preceding montage. When he had pieced it all together, he jumped up and said, "That's an excellent idea, Ash! I couldn't have said it better myself!"

"Well, maybe I could," he added unconvincingly, "but this is why I have the Frontier Brain help design their Battle Facility - only they know what they want! Do you have any special features you want to be part of your Facility so we can include those in the construction?" The Frontier owner took out a small notepad to write everything down, having decided to forget about trying to remember everything.

Ash looked at Anabel and, receiving a nod, turned back to Scott. "There's only one thing I can think of right now - I want to be able to use all of my Pokémon at my Battle Facility, so nobody feels left out. After all, only using a select few would counter the idea the Colosseum stands for. Maybe you can figure out a way to rotate them evenly, so they all get their share of battling time. Is that workable?"

"Okay, large Pokémon habitat area… selection mechanism… got it," said Scott, scribbling in his notepad. "Well, Ash, that won't be a problem - we'll make it our top priority to add those into your Facility's plans. Is there anything else you wanted to add?"

Ash smiled. "Nope, should be about it."

Scott closed his notepad and stowed it away. "Alright then, Ash. We'll get started now, and by the end of your apprenticeship, your Battle Facility should be ready. I've already got construction crews lined up to work - I learned my lesson about last-minute hiring when one of Brandon's hovercraft engines nearly exploded."

Seeing their startled faces, he reassured them, "Don't worry about anything. My men will work around the clock to ensure that doesn't happen again."

"Thanks a lot, Scott - I appreciate that," Ash answered, still not wholly convinced. However, a look from Anabel communicated to him that Scott was, in fact, serious about trying to avoid catastrophes.

"No problem at all, Ash." The man replied as he reluctantly heaved himself out of his armchair. "Now, I must be off if you two will excuse me. I want to finish the planning as soon as possible so we can start building Ash's Battle Facility!" He entered the elevator, waving farewell.

Ash and Anabel waved back, heading to the window to watch him leave. As Scott's red sports car sped away (probably above 100 mph), "Whelp, let's get back to the generator room. If we do that, we'll also have more time tomorrow to prepare for the weekend tournament." Said Ash with a sigh at the thought of getting back to work.

Anabel giggled. "So you want to do more work now? What a shame; I was just about to close up for the afternoon and take a break. If that's what you want to do, though..." She trailed off, leaving the end of her sentence unsaid.

"Of course, it isn't! - I mean, no, it is - I mean... Oh, whatever, let's go have some fun!" yelled Ash, grabbing the Salon Maiden's hand and nearly dragging her out of her office.


The pair arrived at Anabel's cabin about 20 minutes later, 15 of which were spent dismissing all the employees and locking up the Tower. As they entered, they saw Corey lying on the couch, sleeping. His Raichu, Boltblast, was resting its head against the side of the sofa in a deep slumber.

"Aww, look at those two," Anabel commented in a fan-girlish tone. "They look so peaceful and - don't tell my brother I said this - cute sleeping there like that." A contemplative look then appeared on her face. "My sisterly instincts urge me to give them a rude awakening, but I also don't want to disturb them. Eh, I'll let them sleep for now."

"Oh sure, you let them sleep, but you wake me up with an air horn while suspended upside down on my first day. No need to explain; I see how it is." Ash teasingly complained. To further enhance the charade, he turned his head away from the Salon Maiden, nose in the air.

He was startled when Anabel wrapped her arms around him in a hug, whispering mischievously into his ear. "You know Ash; I would really appreciate it if you forgave me for that little prank. If you do, I can make it worth your while later…."

Ash froze as the Salon Maiden pulled away laughing, somewhat confused about the sing-song tone of voice she had used in conjunction with her actions. When he recovered, she told him, "Go get ready; we're going to go to the lake to relax for a little while. Oh yeah, and after your speech back in front of Scott, I'd be very disappointed in you if you didn't bring your Pokémon, so don't forget them."

Ash stood there, still somewhat dumbfounded, as the violet-haired girl walked down the hall to her room. His eyes drawn to her retreating form, and he noticed Anabel was walking differently than usual - she seemed to be putting a little extra sway in her hips as she left the room. His hormones kicked in, causing him to blush as he attempted to shield his mind from inappropriate thoughts.

As the door closed to Anabel's room, Ash regained his composure and went into his swimsuit, where he changed into a pair of blue swim trunks and a matching blue tank top, both sporting a black Pokéball insignia.

Ash then went back into the living room to wait for Anabel and saw that Corey had awakened from his slumber. As he entered the room, the violet-haired trainer looked over and said, "I don't know what it is you've got, but you seem to be making an impression on Anabel."

"What…? What do you mean by that?" asked Ash, his denseness again interfering at the worst possible moment.

"Sheesh, come on, dude… my sister isn't the type of girl who normally tries flirting with guys. Trust me, I know."

"Wait… you saw that?"

"No, you just told me, Ashy-boy." laughed Corey as he put his feet up on the table next to the couch.

Ash could not formulate a proper reply, annoyed with himself for walking into that one and Corey for calling him "Ashy-boy."

Corey laughed again, relenting. "Alright, Espeon told me. But I would have noticed anyway..."

"I guess it was sort of obvious," Ash admitted.

"Even if it wasn't, siblings tend to pick up things after a while, which would have become evident to me. But anyway, since it's just us right now, I have something I need to tell you. I would give you a long, drawn-out speech, but Anabel will probably be out in less than five minutes.

"So all I'm going to say is this: please take good care of her, Ash. One of my former traveling companions was hurt badly by her boyfriend, and I don't want that to happen to my sister. Please promise me you won't hurt Anabel."

Ash looked back at Anabel's brother, confidently saying, "I promise, Corey. But I'm curious, what happened to your companion?"

Corey got up from the couch and walked over to the door, Boltblast in tow. "Thankfully, her boyfriend realized his mistake and apologized. Once I had verified he was sincere - my abilities only extend that far - they made up and have stayed together for about a year now." As he opened the door, he added, "Let Anabel know I'm going out on a walk for a little while."

Ash nodded at Corey, who nodded back in response, closing the door behind him on his way out.

Once the door shut, Pikachu emerged from behind the couch and lept onto Ash's shoulder, nuzzling him affectionately.

"Hey, buddy! I was wondering where you were. I bet you were trying to give Corey and me some man-to-man conversational time, which is why you didn't come out right away, right?"

"Chu pika, Pikapi!" the mouse affirmed.

"And what, may I ask, was this 'conversation' about?" asked a voice behind him.

Ash turned to see the subject of the conversation herself, arms crossed across her chest and a no-nonsense look on her face. "And don't think you can Buizel your way out of telling me."

"Oh... Anabel… heh, heh... Yeah, umm, we were just talking about... uh... the different types of food we give our Pokémon! You know, just comparing recipes…." Ash nervously fibbed.

"You know, Ash, if you're going to try lying to a girl, pick one who can't read your emotions. And even then, you need to make at least it sound believable instead of spouting nonsense like 'I need to go iron my Growlithe' or something similarly stupid."

"I'm sorry, Anabel…" the raven-haired trainer said softly, looking down and hanging his arms in an exaggeratedly depressed fashion.

"Pi pika, Chu-ka..." Pikachu mimicked, imitating his trainer's actions. (Due to Pikachu's talent for miming looks, his performance was much more convincing than Ash's - at least in Anabel's opinion.)

Convinced her friend was sincere, despite the hamminess of his actions, Anabel forgave him. Then, deciding to play along with the exaggerated theme, she lifted Ash's head with a finger and playfully teased, "You know, Ashy-boy, you could always make it up to me by giving me a foot massage when we get to the lake."

Ash wasn't sure what bothered him more; Anabel calling him by his least favorite nickname or that her usage of it genuinely didn't bother him.

Drawing on the inner guiding power he had been (albeit very slowly) teaching himself to harness since Gary's visit, and he felt a sense of affirmation that he should accept her offer. He nervously responded, "Of… of course, Anabel. I would... I would love… to do that for you."

Anabel whooped in victory, accidentally waking up Espeon, then grabbed Ash's hand and started dragging him out the door.

WHAM!

"It might help if you opened the door first," Ash pointed out as they picked themselves up off the floor, gathering their spilled supplies.

"Eh heh heh... Right." Anabel giggled, and they ran out the (open) door and towards the lake. Unfortunately, this time they left the door open.

Espeon walked delicately out behind them, closing the door with her psychic abilities, and followed the duo (and Pikachu) over to the lake.


Once they reached the lake, Anabel looked around, "Looks like a great spot! Let's get set up and bring out our Pokémon!"

Ash nodded, already starting to unpack their towels and (of course) food. Once he finished, he placed the Egg on the grassy surface, unlatched the five Pokeballs off his belt, and threw them into the air. "Come on out, everyone!" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder as his other partners appeared in a flash of white light, calling their respective species names. Anabel did the same with her partners as Espeon emerged from the woods.

Soon, all fourteen of them played happily in the lake, holding a massive splash tournament. The native Magikarp won, of course, and after a while, they sat on the grass drying off.

"Hey, Ash?" the Salon Maiden questioned.

"Yeah?"

"I was just thinking; it's been a while since we last had a battle, so why don't we have a battle right now?"

"Great idea, Anabel!" Ash excitedly responded. "Singles or doubles?"

"I was thinking a double battle," she answered, looking over the Pokémon in front of them. "Is that okay with you?"

"Sounds perfect! Hmm… who should I choose, though?"

"I already know which Pokémon I'm going to use," Anabel responded. "Starmie, Kirlia, it's your time to shine, my friends!" she directed, and said Pokémon moved to stand in front of her.

"Hmm… Starmie and Kirlia. In that case, Bulbasaur, Quilava, I choose you!" Ash yelled. The two Pokémon jumped for joy and raced in front of Ash, eager to begin the battle.

"Alright, Ash, let's just say whoever knocks out the other person's Pokémon first wins! But what will the prize be?..."

"How about this: if I lose, I'll skip supper, and if you lose... Um, you can choose that."

"Smart choice, Ash," she jibed, tapping the bridge of her nose. "I say... if I get beaten, I'll forgo that foot massage promised earlier."

Ash weighed the options to determine how badly he wanted to win: giving a foot massage and missing supper or eating food and getting out of a deal he wasn't quite sure how to fulfill. It was, quite obviously, an easy choice.

"Alright, Ash. Be my guest," said Anabel as they assumed their positions on the makeshift battlefield.

"Nope, ladies, first," Ash answered with a grin. "Besides, once I become a Frontier Brain, I'll have to get used to giving my opponent the first move, right? Might as well get started now..."

Ash's response caught Anabel slightly off guard, but she recovered quickly. "Alright then, Ash, I'm very impressed! Starmie, use Hydro Pump, and Kirlia, speed it up with Psychic!"

Upon hearing Anabel's call, Starmie aimed a powerful stream of water from its jewel toward the pair. Kirlia's eyes glowed a light blue as he began manifesting his Psychic power. A blue aura surrounded the Hydro Pump and raised its speed, sharply increasing its momentum.

Ash countered the powered-up jet of water by calling out, "Bulbasaur, jump with Vine Whip and Quilava, head underground to avoid the attack!"

When the boosted Hydro Pump came near, Bulbasaur released a pair of vines from the base of his bulb and launched himself into the air and out of harm's way. Quilava, on the other hand, quickly performed a small jump to give itself momentum before digging into the ground, also avoiding the attack.

"Now, Razor Leaf from above, followed by Flamethrower!"

"Kirlia, get in front of Starmie and block the attacks with Protect!"

After hearing Anabel's instructions, Ash murmured loudly enough for Quilava to hear, "Wait until the Protect dissipates to fire your attack!"

Although falling to the ground, Bulbasaur had complete control over his movements and launched a barrage of sharp leaves toward Anabel's Pokémon. However, as the lilac-haired trainer had planned, the attack was nullified when Kirlia sprang in front of Starmie and created a light green shield around them, which the leaves harmlessly bounced off.

As the Protect dissipated, Quilava emerged from the ground and fired a stream of flames toward its opponents, hoping to catch them off guard. Unfortunately, that was not to be.

"Starmie, block the attack with Light Screen!" commanded Anabel. This time, it was Starmie's turn to defend, and it moved in front of Kirlia and created a yellow box around the two partners as Bulbasaur landed, shedding its momentum with a quick roll.

When the Flamethrower collided with the box, it attempted to push through, but Starmie's Light Screen held fast. It may not have been as powerful as the one Gardevoir used against Blastoise, but it was sufficient to hold off its sustaining hits.

"Bulbasaur, follow the Flamethrower with Leech Seed! Ash called, making a star shape with his hands to indicate the target as both Quilava's attack and Starmie's defense began to lose power.

Once the Light Screen disappeared from Starmie and Kirlia, Bulbasaur fired a small seed from its bulb towards one of the opposing Pokémon. Unable to determine who the target was and knowing Kirlia could not perform another two-person Protect without recharging, Anabel took a gamble. "Protect yourself, Kirlia!" she called, hoping she had made the correct choice.

Sadly, she had not - Bulbasaur had aimed for Starmie, and his projectile hit the Mysterious Pokémon on one of its upper spikes. The seed then opened up, sending out vines that quickly wrapped around Starmie, engulfing it in red light for a second before the starfish's spines shredded the energy-draining net.

"Yes! That worked perfectly! Now, Quilava, Flame Wheel!" yelled Ash. The second-form Johto starter nodded and charged toward the pair of Pokémon with a sphere of fire surrounding it.

"You know Ash, just because you got a couple of moves off on me doesn't mean you're going to win," Anabel called, attempting to lower his morale. "You shouldn't become cocky - the challenger could always pull out a surprise on you." She switched to mental communication. "Like this one! Kirlia, use Psychic to stop Quilava, then Starmie, fire a Water Pulse!"

"Oh, yeah? Bulbasaur, power up Quilava with Sunny Day!" As Ash said these words, Quilava suddenly stopped short and was hit by a compact sphere of water from Starmie, which threw it backward. Seeing the Psychic glow in Kirlia's eyes, the trainer realized that Anabel was using telepathy again.

"Quilava! Are you alright?!" he asked. Instead of answering, Quilava got up and began staggering around in circles, aimlessly shooting fire into the air. Bulbasaur recognized his fellow starter's confusion and, instead of using his gathered solar energy to potentially turn Quilava into a fire hazard, used it for a not-yet-mastered Synthesis.

Ash realized it too. "Dangit! If this were a League battle, I would switch Quilava out to heal the confusion, but I can't do that here!"

"Perfect!" Anabel complimented. "Now, Kirlia, use Shock Wave on Quilava!" Kirlia nodded in response and mimicked Gardevoir's arm movements from the battle with Blastoise, preparing to fire a stream of lighting toward the confused Pokémon.

As we know, Shock Wave is a "never-miss" technique, guaranteeing a hit. However, this accuracy mechanism kept Quilava safe - its unsteady gait of confusion had no pattern to track. As the Volcano Pokémon was about to get hit, it spontaneously twisted in mid-air, barely avoiding the attack.

Knowing Quilava's accidental employment of the Tangled Feet ability would only last so long, Ash was looking for a way to counter the attack. As he noticed Quilava's unintentionally graceful dodges, he was suddenly reminded of a League conference he had once participated in, giving him a stroke of inspiration.

"Bulbasaur, remember how Grass-type back in the Indigo League canceled out Pikachu's Thunderbolt? Do the same thing!"

"What! Cancel out Shock Wave without a Ground-type move?" yelled Anabel as the Kanto Grass-type starter jumped in between Quilava and Kirlia, sending out his vines toward the ground as he moved. As he landed, his vines dug into the ground right before the Shock Wave impacted. Much like when Pikachu used Thunderbolt on Bellsprout, the electricity was conducted harmlessly into the ground, having no effect.

Upon seeing this, Kirlia ceased the attack, knowing trying to sustain the electricity would tire himself out without doing any good.

"Wow, Ash! I must say, you have improved since last time. Normally you would have been all frantic, like, 'Quilava, nooooo!", but instead, you calmly pull out yet another off-the-wall battle strategy. Nice job," she praised.

"Thanks, Anabel - I would never have even known that was possible if it hadn't been for a Bellsprout that gave me a whole bunch of trouble back in the Indigo League."

"Wait… you had trouble with a Bellsprout?!"

"Look, Anabel, this wasn't just any old Bellsprout - it knew some kind of garden karate or something crazy! It took out Bulbasaur and Pikachu before I could finally stop it with Muk!"

"Bulba, Bulbasaur!" "Pika, Pikachu!" both of Ash's Pokémon complained, clearly embarrassed they had both lost a Bellsprout.

"Heh-heh-heh, sorry, guys. I didn't mean to begin up tough memories! Besides, that was our first conference, remember?" Both Pokémon ignored his apology and looked away from the raven-haired trainer, trying hard to keep a straight face. "Yup, they forgive me."

Anabel, seeing that Quilava had nearly recovered, cut in. "You can tell me the rest of the story later, but we have a battle to finish! Starmie, use Hydro Pump on Quilava!"

Upon hearing that, Ash redirected his attention to the battle, wary of any mental commands. When Starmie fired a Hydro Pump, he countered by calling, "Both of you, dodge!"

Bulbasaur successfully avoided the attack, firing another Leech Seed on his initiative, but Quilava couldn't say the same. Unable to thoroughly shake off the confusion in time, the Volcano Pokémon was hammered by the Hydro Pump and sent backward into a tree. It had regained enough control to mute its back flames so as not to burn down the tree.

Ash gritted his teeth, knowing that Quilava probably wouldn't be able to take much more after two super-effective attacks of that magnitude combined with the impact with the tree. On the bright side, his Fire-type starter's Blaze ability had been activated, giving it a power boost.

"You can do this, Quilava!" Ash encouraged. "Get in there and show them who's boss with a Flamethrower!" Quilava, breathing quite heavily but still up for combat, opened its mouth and fired another stream of flames toward Anabel's Pokémon.

Anabel called for another Protect from Kirlia, but he was forced to break off and dodge as several Razor Leaves whipped past his head. Unable to erect a proper defense, Starmie and Kirlia were engulfed by the fire - although it did minor damage to Starmie due to its Water typing. It did, however, bring to Starmie's attention that it had been Leech Seeded quite a while back. The effects of the energy-draining attack hit, and the Water-type cringed in pain from the damage it had sustained.

"Alright, Bulbasaur, let's wrap this up with Solarbeam!"

As Bulbasaur began to absorb photons and solar energy into his bulb, Anabel called out, "You're not going to finish me that easily, Ash! Starmie, Rapid Spin into a Hydro Pump, and Kirlia, you use Magical Leaf! If he uses a fire attack, catch the leaves on fire and send them towards Bulbasaur!"

Starmie immediately launched itself forward and began to spin rapidly, its spikes blurring into what seemed like a sharp disc. Kirlia conjured up several glowing leaves before waving his arms to send all the projectiles flying toward Ash's Pokémon.

"Quilava, defend Bulbasaur and use Lava Plume as a wall to block the incoming attacks!"

As the attacks approached, the flames on Quilava's back began glowing reddish-white as Blaze gave it one last surge of power. Quilava then opened its mouth and released a torrent of flame from all its available sources, the heat of the attack approaching the potency of lava (as its name suggested). Focusing hard, Quilava concentrated its attack into a defensive move, forming an almost solid fire wall in front of Bulbasaur.

The Magical Leaves could not make it through the inferno, but Starmie was a different story. Its Rapid Spin attack helped funnel away the heat and protect any one spot on Starmie's surface from being exposed for too long. Reinforced by its Water-type resistances, the Mysterious Pokémon penetrated the wall, causing Quilava to look up in shock before getting blasted by a torrent of water at point-blank range.

As expected, Quilava was KO-ed by the attack, and the supply of flames was cut off as it succumbed to unconsciousness. The fire, no longer contained, quickly expanded outwards, turning the excess water into a cloud of steam that obscured both trainers' vision.

Starmie returned to its position next to Kirlia, wary of the hidden Bulbasaur inside the fog. Anabel looked over as the steam dissipated, expecting to see the Grass-type harmed by its partner's attack and splash damage from the Hydro Pump, but what met her eyes was... nothing. Confused, she took a closer look.

On the other hand, Ash knew what had happened, and a grin grew on his face as the ground around a small green patch began rumbling. The vegetation started rising, revealing a bulb that glowed with white light as Bulbasaur emerged from the hole where he had taken refuge.

"Alright, Bulbasaur! Solarbeam!" Roared Ash, pointing his finger at the two opponents the plant dinosaur faced.

"Bulba-saur!" he grunted in acknowledgment, leaning down so he could properly target Anabel's Pokémon. Once his aim was aligned, the Kanto Grass Starter unleashed a tremendous beam of pure solar energy toward his stunned victims.

Anabel and her Pokémon could not react in time, and the laserlike burst of sunlight engulfed the battlers, creating a massive explosion (as was to be expected during an Ash Ketchum battle).

"Starmie! Kirlia! Are you okay?" she called (forgetting to use telepathic communication) as Bulbasaur continued pumping power into the attack. She was amazed it still had energy to burn - his capacity seemed to exceed even that of some Venusaurs!

Eventually, however, his attack tapered off, and he walked over to Ash's side of the field, leaving the duo of Psychic-types fainted in front of Anabel.

"Whelp, I guess that's it," Ash commented, returning Quilava, who had just woken back up, to its Pokéball. "Nice job, Quilava. You too, Bulbasaur."

Anabel ran over to her fallen Pokémon, supporting each of them with one of her hands as they slowly regained conciseness.

"You both were magnificent - I'm very proud of your performances today," she told Starmie and Kirlia softly as she recalled them to their respective Pokéballs.

Anabel then stood up, planning to ask Ash about what had happened with Bulbasaur. However, the words died on her tongue as she saw Ash walking over to her - an unbidden train of thought took over her mind instead. "Wow,… his ability has improved drastically during his time in Sinnoh. Add to that his impressive looks, and it's a wonder he's not flocked by fangirls wanting to date him. I wonder, though... What would he do if I -"

"Hey Anabel, you alright?" Ash interrupted. "You looked kinda zoned out there."

Anabel regained her composure and tried to hide her embarrassment behind a mask of annoyance. Poking his chest with her finger, lectured, "You know Ash, you didn't need to be so rough there. I mean, using a Solarbeam of that magnitude was way overdoing it for a battle like this. You need to work on holding back the flashy stuff - we don't need another Tucker."

Ash didn't know what to say to that. "But... but that's just how I do things..." he managed to stutter out.

Anabel could hold her Poker face no longer and giggled, "Of course it is, and that's part of why I find you so adorable..." She quickly swooped in and kissed him on the cheek before pulling away, blushing.

Ash, who was also blushing, decided to take refuge in what he knew on a level second only to his Pokémon - food consumption. "Uh, how about we eat dinner now?" he nervously requested.

"All right - I'm feeling kind of peckish too," Anabel admitted. As they walked over to their picnic blanket, they (almost as an afterthought) called their battling partners back out for the meal.

"Ahhh... that was some good food." Ash sighed, rubbing his bulging stomach. "Kinda makes me want just to sit out here doing nothing for a while - don't you agree, Anabel?"

"Uh-huh..." she answered. "But it looks like our Pokémon don't see it the same way." She gestured to where Bulbasaur was firing Razor Leaves like clay Pidgeys for Quilava to target. Alakazam and Metagross were levitating a couple of boulders, Pidgeot and Kingler were practicing evasion and accuracy, respectively, and Pikachu was trying to use Shadow Sneak to hide from Espeon. His trainer may have been able to stand what humans called 'flirting,' but he wasn't ready for this soon after Buneary, thank you very much.

"Yeah, it looks like you're right. But where are Starmie and Kirli- oh, there they are." Kirlia was practicing his close-range combat moves by punching and kicking at several Barriers set up by Starmie, training for when he became a Gallade.

As an especially vicious kick contacted the Barrier, Ash winced. "That had to have hurt." His foot started aching in sympathy. "You know what would feel good about now?" he asked himself, "A foot massage, like the one I promised Anabel earlier..."

Reaching over, he tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, wanna go over there and sit by that tree?

"Why?" asked Anabel curiously.

"I'm going to give you that foot massage you wanted so badly before."

"Wait a minute, Ash. I said if you won, you wouldn't have to, and I'm a girl of my word."

"I know you are, but I want to," Ash responded.

"Well... if you're really going to twist my arm," laughed Anabel. "Isn't here just as good a place as any?" Taking off her shoes to reveal her bare feet.

Ash faked a faint. "Well, now I see why you wear shoes so often..."

"Hey, this is a massage session!" Anabel protested as Ash began to work. As her crush massaged the tense muscles in her feet, she couldn't help but let out a small moan of pleasure as her muscles began to relax.

Ash heard that and snickered, knowing he had leverage now. "What was that I just heard, Anabel? Did you just ask me to stop?"

Anabel's face flared brightly as she shakily answered, "N… no, Ash, that feels good. Plea… please continue."

Ash didn't respond, instead of continuing to massage her feet. As a wave of relief swept through her tense muscles, Anabel almost let out another moan of pleasure - thankfully for her, she kept it in this time.

As he worked, Ash thought he heard Pikachu softly singing, "Chu-ka Pikapi, pi-chu pi ka pi, Chu-Pi-Ka-Ka-Pi-Chu-Pi! Pi ka chu, chu ka..." His song trailed off as he spotted Espeon lurking in the bushes before letting out a nervous laugh and dashing away from her line of sight.

"So he's okay with teasing people about that thing but can't take it himself? Sounds suspiciously familiar..."Ash continued for another 10 minutes, lost in thought. When he realized how long he had been sitting there, he stopped, about to ask Anabel if she wanted to head back. His words met the fate of so many others as he realized that the Salon Maiden had fallen asleep.

Ash, not wanting to disturb her slumber, got up and recalled their Pokémon before coming back over and gently picking her up bridal style. The raven-haired trainer proceeded to walk back to the log cabin, knowing even if she had been awake, she would likely have just crashed on her bed for the night once they arrived.

He walked back flanked by Pikachu and Espeon (who had the picnic supplies and levitated the Egg); Ash looked at the girl he had in his arms, thinking it might not be as bad as he had initially assumed if they became a couple - they had sure acted like one that evening. Maybe they would get together in time - but what if that time was now?

Deciding it wouldn't hurt to try, Ash devised a plan to implement once they returned to the cabin - which came sooner than expected. Were it not for a weak Thundershock to the ankle; he would have collided with the door for the second time.

Once inside, he carefully set the Salon Maiden on her bed to not wake her up, and she instinctively began to hug a stray pillow. Walking out to the kitchen, the raven-haired trainer got a slip of paper and wrote a note saying, "Wanna go on a date with me?"

Ash then went back into Anabel's room and placed it on her nightstand, hoping it would be the first thing she saw when she woke up. He quietly left the room as Espeon entered, gently closing the door behind him.

Pikachu, who had been helping Espeon unload supplies, climbed onto his shoulder, and Ash asked him, "Do you think this will work, buddy?"

The electric mouse had not been privy to Ash's plan and simply shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "I dunno."

Ash looked at his best friend, smiling wryly. "Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, Pikachu," he said sarcastically. With that, he made his way to his room, ready to crash for the night.


Author's Note:

Alrighty, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. There was quite a bit of Abilityshipping, and a battle in here, so I figure that should appease everyone!

That's about it, everyone; here's the title for the next chapter!

Crossroads Chapter 12: The Predator Moves In!
Cyclone20